Darius Stevens, born in Washington D.C., made history with the release of The Way Home, the most-awarded Mexican indie film of the year. The Latino love story has won over 46 International Film Awards and 16 Official Selections.
By coincidence or fate, the filmmaker was born on the same day one of the biggest movie releases, Jaws, was released. So, from a young age, Stevens found himself lost between the pages of old comic books and the world of cinema.
“The old Vista Theater near the corner of Hillhurst and Sunset was on my walk home from school every day and even though I couldn’t afford tickets the theater owner would let me into showings and have popcorn if I helped clean the theater afterward and here I was exposed to a lot of international and art cinema that I never would’ve seen otherwise which made me realize cinema wasn’t just the excitement of the summer blockbusters but a massively important art form that could change people’s perception about the world around them,” Stevens said.
This realization led Stevens to his first filmmaking job at just eight years old when his father took him to watch video monitors at an active film set. Soon, the director noticed him and explained how a movie set worked and who all the different people were.
“I asked if I could do something and was handed a broom. So my first job was sweeping up and after getting frustrated with this (I wanted to make MOVIES! Not sweep the floor!) I was told, “every great director knows that a clean set makes for a safer set, and a safe setting is the best kind of set to have. Keep cleaning until you really believe in that.” I insisted ten minutes later I believed that, but it took a few weeks before they believed me,” the director said.
After a tedious month of sweeping and cleaning, Stevens was shown the post-production facility and introduced to the editing chief, who taught him how to cut and spice film. He continued to learn each area of filmmaking throughout his childhood, from construction to VFX.
“During this same time, I was also trained as a line producer. So really, I learned everything on the job while I was studying every book I could get my hands on and taking specialist seminars in LA Film School and nearby universities so I could really hone my writing skills as I was doing a ton of spec work and taking meetings trying to get my projects off the ground,” Stevens said.
By the time he turned 30, Stevens had already opened his own production company. “…Right before I turned 30, I opened up my own small production company for commercials and industrials and then spent years traveling the world doing thousands of projects where I really had to do everything, and that, more than anything, made me a filmmaker,” the producer said.
Although Stevens has worked on high-profile projects with big stars such as Natalie Portman and companies such as Netflix, he takes the most pride in his feature films.
“Both of my feature films are career highlights more than anything because these were my projects as writer/director/producer/DP/Editor. It’s easy to get work on other people’s projects, but making your own from scratch, I believe, is a much greater accomplishment, regardless of project scale,” the filmmaker said.
After years of experience as a filmmaker, Stevens credits a film’s script and story, the actors’ performances, storytelling through cinematography, and editing as the essential elements of filmmaking. He also highlights music as a crucial aspect.
“To this, I could also add how music is used as the unseen narrator and spiritual guide for the audience’s journey through that story, but even that is secondary to those four primary elements. Everything else we do is in service of those elements. And that takes nothing from their importance either. A close-up on the best actor in the world is hard to watch with terrible makeup.”
In the future, Stevens hopes to continue to hone his skills as a writer and director of indie films.
“I want to make as many films as I can and strive to make each film better than the last and more successful than the last. I love that I learned filmmaking the indie way or the Roger Corman way, which is to use the best of what you have to the best of your ability,” the director said.
Learn more about Stevens and his newest release, The Way Home, here
